--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are torn between the craving to know…" description: "\"We are torn between the craving to know and the despair of having known.\" — Francoise Sagan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/francoise-sagan-3194_craving_we-are-torn-between-the-craving-to-know_3207992.png" --- # We are torn between the craving to know and the despair of… ![“We are torn between the craving to know and the despair of having known.” quote by Francoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/francoise-sagan-3194_craving_we-are-torn-between-the-craving-to-know_3207992.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/francoise-sagan-3194_craving_we-are-torn-between-the-craving-to-know_3207992.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/francoise-sagan-3194_craving_we-are-torn-between-the-craving-to-know_3207992.png) > “We are torn between the craving to know and the despair of having known.” [Francoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans are torn between the desire for knowledge and the emptiness that can follow when that knowledge is attained. **In simple terms:** Knowing can be both a craving and a burden. Key Takeaway Balance curiosity with acceptance. Themes knowledge despair human nature Mood thoughtful melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - research projects - personal growth - education decisions - life decisions Key Concepts existentialism epistemology psychology Questions to Reflect On - What do you seek to know? - When does knowing become a burden? A Different Perspective Too much knowledge can lead to disillusionment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) ## Related quotes > [We are torn between a craving to know and the despair of having known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-are-torn-between-a-craving-to-know-and-the-despair-of-having-known/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We humans are a hungry lot. We are driven by a craving to know who we are. Yet who we are is embedded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-miller/we-humans-are-a-hungry-lot-we-are-driven-by-a-craving-to-know-who-we/) [Calvin Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-miller/) > [“Your memories are like the air I breathe. I don't have to keep checking on it every now and then to make sure whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-vasu/your-memories-are-like-the-air-i-breathe-i-don-t-have-to-keep/) [Akshay Vasu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-vasu/) > [“I have wanted you for so long now,” he said roughly, “I’ve no memory of how it feels to be devoid of the craving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-day/i-have-wanted-you-for-so-long-now-he-said-roughly-i-ve-no-memory-of/) [Sylvia Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-day/) > [When, as President Joseph F. Smith said, we "catch a spark from the awakened memories of the immortal soul, "let us be quietly grateful.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/when-as-president-joseph-f-smith-said-we-catch-a-spark-from-the/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [Their vain presumption of knowing all can take beginning solely from their never having known anything; for if one has but once experienced the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/their-vain-presumption-of-knowing-all-can-take-beginning-solely-from/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [When I leave this world, I don't want to leave just having a well-known name but having made a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-bella/when-i-leave-this-world-i-don-t-want-to-leave-just-having-a-well/) [Nikki Bella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-bella/) > [They mustn't know my despair, I can't let them see the wounds which they have caused, I couldn't bear their sympathy and their kind-hearted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/they-mustn-t-know-my-despair-i-can-t-let-them-see-the-wounds-which/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [They mustn't know my despair, I can't let them see the wounds which they have caused, I couldn't bear their sympathy and their kind-hearted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/they-mustn-t-know-my-despair-i-can-t-let-them-see-the-wounds-which-2/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [“Whether you are man or woman, rich or poor, dependent or free, happy or unhappy; whether you bore in your elevation the splendour of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ren-kierkegaard/whether-you-are-man-or-woman-rich-or-poor-dependent-or-free-happy-or/) [Søren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ren-kierkegaard/) > [“Do not despair. I know you will not despair. You have a manly and a proud heart. A proud heart can survive a general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/do-not-despair-i-know-you-will-not-despair-you-have-a-manly-and-a/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [Poverty breeds despair. We know this. Despair breeds violence. We know this. In turbulent times, isn't it cheaper, and smarter, to make friends out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bono/poverty-breeds-despair-we-know-this-despair-breeds-violence-we-know/) [Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bono/) > [You know what despair is; then winter should have meaning for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-gl-ck/you-know-what-despair-is-then-winter-should-have-meaning-for-you/) [Louise Glück](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-gl-ck/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“The more the soul loves the word, the more craving it has after it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gurnall/the-more-the-soul-loves-the-word-the-more-craving-it-has-after-it/) [William Gurnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gurnall/) ## More by Francoise Sagan > [It is healthier to see the good points of others than to analyze our own bad ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/it-is-healthier-to-see-the-good-points-of-others-than-to-analyze-our/) [Francoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [“Every little girl knows about love. It is only her capacity to suffer from it that increases.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/every-little-girl-knows-about-love-it-is-only-her-capacity-to-suffer/) [Francoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [Writing is just having a sheet of paper, a pen and not a shadow of an idea of what you are going to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/writing-is-just-having-a-sheet-of-paper-a-pen-and-not-a-shadow-of-an/) [Francoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [“Nicole had put on weight. This is the effect which, in three cases out of four, unhappiness has upon women. The process of eating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/nicole-had-put-on-weight-this-is-the-effect-which-in-three-cases-out/) [Françoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [Art must take reality by surprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/art-must-take-reality-by-surprise/) [Francoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [“We always want someone we've treated badly to be gay. It's less upsetting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/we-always-want-someone-we-ve-treated-badly-to-be-gay-it-s-less/) [Françoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [A love affair based on jealousy is doomed from the start ... It is certanly a sign of love, but it's a sign that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/a-love-affair-based-on-jealousy-is-doomed-from-the-start-it-is/) [Francoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [“There is a certain kind of stupidity reserved for women's dealings with men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/there-is-a-certain-kind-of-stupidity-reserved-for-women-s-dealings/) [Françoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [One partner is always more in love than the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/one-partner-is-always-more-in-love-than-the-other/) [Francoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [Life has confirmed for me the thoughts and impressions I had when I was 18, as if it was all intuition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/life-has-confirmed-for-me-the-thoughts-and-impressions-i-had-when-i/) [Francoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [It would be bad form for me to describe people I don't know and don't understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/it-would-be-bad-form-for-me-to-describe-people-i-don-t-know-and-don-t/) [Francoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [Whisky, gambling and Ferraris are better than housework.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/whisky-gambling-and-ferraris-are-better-than-housework/) [Francoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [Illness is the opposite of freedom. It makes everything impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/illness-is-the-opposite-of-freedom-it-makes-everything-impossible/) [Francoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [“She said she didn't love him, and he said it didn't matter, and the poverty of their words brought tears to their eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/she-said-she-didn-t-love-him-and-he-said-it-didn-t-matter-and-the/) [Françoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [Art must take reality by surprise. It takes those moments which are for us merely a moment, plus a moment, plus another moment, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/art-must-take-reality-by-surprise-it-takes-those-moments-which-are/) [Francoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) [Explore all 111 Francoise Sagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) ## More Craving quotes > [“The more the soul loves the word, the more craving it has after it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gurnall/the-more-the-soul-loves-the-word-the-more-craving-it-has-after-it/) [William Gurnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gurnall/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [I dream of a love that is more than two people craving to possess one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/i-dream-of-a-love-that-is-more-than-two-people-craving-to-possess-one/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [When I look at you all I see is heartbreak waiting to happen. And I can't tell if it's because of love. Or loneliness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ream/when-i-look-at-you-all-i-see-is-heartbreak-waiting-to-happen-and-i/) [Ream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ream/) > [People who do not understand themselves have a craving for understanding — a thing which is rather surmised and never spoken than known and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-stekel/people-who-do-not-understand-themselves-have-a-craving-for/) [Wilhelm Stekel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-stekel/) > [Pleasure simply brings more craving, but the problem is that we try to get contentment through pleasure. True contentment can only come through service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/pleasure-simply-brings-more-craving-but-the-problem-is-that-we-try-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [I had left home (like all Jewish girls) in order to eat pork and take birth control pills. When I first shared an intimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/i-had-left-home-like-all-jewish-girls-in-order-to-eat-pork-and-take/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [When we think carefully, we see that the brief elation we experience when appeasing sensual impulses may not be very different from what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/when-we-think-carefully-we-see-that-the-brief-elation-we-experience/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [How are we to account for the strange human craving for the pleasure of feeling afraid which is so much involved in our love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/how-are-we-to-account-for-the-strange-human-craving-for-the-pleasure/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [You don't want to love - your eternal and abnormal craving is to be loved. You aren't positive, you're negative. You absorb, absorb, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-don-t-want-to-love-your-eternal-and-abnormal-craving-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The worst passion we mortals cherish is the desire to possess. Even when we know that our final destination is a hole not more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-t-suzuki/the-worst-passion-we-mortals-cherish-is-the-desire-to-possess-even/) [D.T. Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-t-suzuki/) > [Memory, with its fugitive adjustments, is the merciful veil to the grim enactments of the first law. It hides the anguish in the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-aumonier/memory-with-its-fugitive-adjustments-is-the-merciful-veil-to-the-grim/) [Stacy Aumonier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-aumonier/) > [Fianlly a wave of reailty swept over my eyes and I was able to see, I wasn't in love with an angle but addicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian/fianlly-a-wave-of-reailty-swept-over-my-eyes-and-i-was-able-to-see-i/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian/) > [The craving to risk death is our last great perversion. We come from night, we go into night. Why live in night?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-craving-to-risk-death-is-our-last-great-perversion-we-come-from/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) Browse all 626 Craving quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are torn between the craving to know and the despair of having known.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Francoise Sagan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/we-are-torn-between-the-craving-to-know-and-the-despair-of-having/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Craving" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/we-are-torn-between-the-craving-to-know-and-the-despair-of-having/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/francoise-sagan-3194_craving_we-are-torn-between-the-craving-to-know_3207992.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/francoise-sagan-3194_craving_we-are-torn-between-the-craving-to-know_3207992.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/francoise-sagan-3194_craving_we-are-torn-between-the-craving-to-know_3207992.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are torn between the craving to know and the despair of having known.” — Francoise Sagan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Francoise Sagan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are torn between the craving...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/we-are-torn-between-the-craving-to-know-and-the-despair-of-having/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/we-are-torn-between-the-craving-to-know-and-the-despair-of-having/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```